Brock Lesnar has announced his retirement from professional wrestling and combat sports, confirming that his match against Oba Femi at WWE SummerSlam was the final bout of his career after more than two decades in the industry.
The former UFC heavyweight champion and longtime WWE star made the announcement during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. Lesnar, 49, ended his latest WWE run with a loss to Oba Femi at SummerSlam, concluding a storyline rivalry that also included a match at WrestleMania 42 earlier this year.
“I’m here today to do this interview to let the world and everybody know that I am retired and I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody,” said Lesnar, per MMA Fighting. “Saturday was a very emotional day for me. It’s kind of weird because… When Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I was like, I can’t do this again. I was like, ‘I think I’m done.’ But the business and I still have fuel in the tank but Saturday for Brock Lesnar, that’s it. That’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else, too.”
Lesnar also reflected on his career and thanked those who had supported him throughout his time in wrestling and mixed martial arts. “I just want to give a shout-out to everybody on this universe that has followed me since I was a little kid all the way until Saturday. I was just a farm kid from South Dakota with a big dream and a big heart and a big-ass chip on my shoulder and I’m just grateful. Grateful to be 49 years old and to have to be able to do what I did in this lifetime, I thank God and everybody that supported me,” said Lesnar.
The retirement brings to a close a career that included multiple WWE championship reigns and a UFC heavyweight title. Lesnar said he now intends to focus on his family, adding: “I’ve got some hunting lined up and I’ve got two boys in hockey, I’m going to support that, their dreams as long as that’s feasible. My daughter, she’s got her eye on the 2028 Olympics. Just going to spend more time with the kids in the woods and just reap what I’ve sewn. Just enjoy life.”
Lesnar joined WWE in 2000 after winning the NCAA Division I heavyweight wrestling title at the University of Minnesota and became the company’s youngest world champion at the age of 25. After leaving WWE in 2004, he transitioned to mixed martial arts, capturing the UFC heavyweight championship before returning to WWE in 2012, where he remained one of the promotion’s biggest attractions until his retirement announcement.
